


The Princess's Respite

by Star_tDash



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Lap Pillow, Princess/Retainer, dia's a gay mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 12:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15972017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_tDash/pseuds/Star_tDash
Summary: Dia is the loyal retainer to the aloof and rebellious princess Hanamaru. With behavoiur that leaves much to be desired and frequent teasing, there must be something more than fulfilling her job that keeps Dia so loyal and protective of her liege.





	The Princess's Respite

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedactedRedacted](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=RedactedRedacted).



_ Huff huff huff… Why must the Princess always insist on being so free spirited… _

 

Groaning as she pushed aside the twentieth branch she has been met with this morning, Dia peered with prying eyes for that all-too-familiar brown hair. She wasn't too mad at Hanamaru; for someone who’s life mostly consisted of being inside, living out her days into small classrooms and stuffy clothing, this sort of behaviour was almost expected of her. She just wished these altercations weren’t was frequent as they were. Flicking off an errant leaf from her hair, Dia walked into a familiar clearing; one that she frequented all to often, but not of her own volition.

 

“Oh, Dia, you came! I was waiting a long time for you, zura.” Hanamaru patted the floor beside her, “come, sit down and join me! I even have some apple slices; I know they’re your favourite!”

 

Sitting in the center of the clearing was the princess herself, apparently in the middle of a small picnic, by the looks of it. A soft, patterned quilt laid on the floor, with a basket containing assorted breads and cheeses from the castle’s reserves. To its side, a plate with a small assortment of fruits, and a jar of what was presumably strawberry preserves. Dia knew that there was no time to simply sit around and laze about like this but… she was the princess’ personal retainer. Anything Hanamaru asked of Dia was to be treated like law; unwavering servitude was what she swore to, after all. 

 

Settling down beside Hanamaru, Dia was quickly given a generous slice of bread by the princess, who was eating a piece of her own. 

 

“Di-wuh yuh sh-wud chy the ohwung cheese!” Hanamaru muffled with a bread-occupied mouth.

 

“Princess, please do not talk with your mouth full. It’s uncouth.”

“Yuh unchoowth!”

 

_ Eugh… spitting bread on me… sometimes I forget that she’s even a princess. _

 

Picking a slice of the aforementioned cheese, Dia topped her makeshift sandwich with an apple slice, giving a satisfied nod before taking a bite. Making sure that she finished her chewing to show an example, Dia spoke up, “so why now of all times, Princess? There’s academics to be studied; if I remember correctly, you do have an upcoming assessment.”

 

“But that’s just why I’m here Dia; I don’t want to do any work, I just want to relax, zura,” Hanamaru explained, opening up the jar sitting between the two of them, “and you know you don’t have to call me ‘Princess’. We’re alone; Maru is fine.”

 

“I know I don’t have to, but I’d rather not risk dropping formalities when it actually matters due to familiarity.” Dia took another bite, watching as Hanamaru spread a generous amount of strawberry across her bread. “And I know that your studies are quite taxing, but someone of the royal family should know first and foremost hat relaxing is not of the utmost importance.

 

Dia’s usual berating fell on deaf ears a she watched Hanamaru wipe her jam covered hands across her dress, leaving a blaring red stain across the vermillion silk she wore. Dia’s hands twitched in held back pain, knowing the hours it might take for the clothiers in the castles to remove the stain.  _ Patience… patience Dia. She will mature and age with time into a responsible, and well-mannered lady… someday.  _ Dia sighed as she took a handkerchief to Hanamaru’s other hand, cleaning it without fear of ruining the dress any further. “You really should be working on your ettique, Princess; will our future queen rule over the kingdom with stains on her royal garments?”

 

“Then I just won’t be the queen. I think it’d just end up being really boring, zura,” Hanamaru answered back, spreading jam on another piece of bread, “and besides, I like my arrangements a lot more now. Having more work means a lot less time doing stuff like this.”

 

“Just because it's boring doesn’t mean it isn't worth doing,” Dia sternly quipped, raising her voice ever so slightly as to get Hanamaru’s attention, “as the daughter of the royal family, it should be your responsibility, under my watch, that you become an upstanding and--”

 

Dia’s lecture turned to angry muffled grunts, her once open mouth now occupied by the bread from Hanamaru’s hands. With a slight scowl to her face, Dia looked up to face her culinary assailant, who seemed to be smirking as she held the slice of bread in place.

 

“Wouldn’t you end up missing stuff like this, Dia?” Hanamaru asked with an all-knowing (and shit-eating) smile on her face. Even if her work ethic was lacking, Hanamaru had quite the sense of insight, and she could tell that Dia cared a bit more about her than her job description let on. No sane woman of Dia’s caliber would deal with stress to the point of splitting hairs, if not for something more than just money. More work for me means less ‘dates’ for us! I’d be absolutely heartbroken if i didn’t get to see you as much, zura.” Hanamaru knew that it was almost a low blow, playing with Dia’s emotions to get herself out of trouble, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And the blush across her face and the choking noise she made as she attempted to chew were but the icing on the proverbial cake .

 

Dia quickly snatched the bread from Hanamaru’s grasp, chewing what was left in her mouth.  _ To say something that unscrupulous, masking it behind something sweet… I wouldn’t expect anything less of her…  _ Dia’s affinity for sweets, which were something she didn’t come by too often, wasn’t helping in her futile attempts to tell Hanamaru off. “T-These are not dates, Hanamaru,” she explained as she did her best to wipe the grin off of Hanamaru’s face, “I’m merely doing my job as your retainer;your whereabouts are my primary job.”

 

“Last I remembered, retainers didn’t stop and share food with their liege, or get embarrassed when they hear the word ‘date’, zura.”

“Of course I wouldn’t! You just surprised me, that’s all.”

“ _ Mmm _ hm. Suuuuuure.”

 

Dia gave a defeated sigh as she went to finishing the rest of the bread she was given, making sure to turn her face away from Hanamaru, knowing full well that her blatant enjoyment of the jam would only result in more teasing.  _ Strange… Hanamaru usually isn’t this quiet… _ After a few moments of almost uncharacteristic silence, Dia could hear a loud yawn, looking to see Hanamaru rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. It was befitting of Hanamaru to fall asleep easily, many a strategic meeting or diplomatic gathering carried out with the background noise of soft snoring from an uninterested princess.

 

“Tired, Princess? We could head back to the castle now, if need be,” Dia asked, as she began to pack the contents of their snack back into the wicker basket.

 

_ I could have some fun with this… _ Hanamaru thought as she saw the willingness to comply in her retainer’s eyes. Time to take a rest and tease Dia just a tad more-- her favourite combo. “That won’t be necessary, Dia, I think I’ll be alright,” Hanamaru responded stopping Dia’s hand from packing any further, “but if you’d like, I have a favour to ask of you that I could require your assistance with, zura.” 

 

_ A chance to do my job; how surprising. _ “Yes, of course. Say the word and it shall but done, Princess.” Dia watched as Hanamaru inched closer, gesturing for Dia to sit beside her. Without warning, Hanamaru leaned down and rested her head on Dia’s lap, sending her into a momentary bout of sapphic panic. 

“Let me rest like this for a while then, zura,” Hanamaru said with a devilish smirk on her face-- not that Dia could see ”the floor is hard and you’re much more comfortable.” 

 

_ The nerve of her-- To do something so cute and leave me defenseless and at her whim… Dear Princess, this is exactly why my heart falls for you.  _ “F-Fine. I shall follow your orders then, Princess.” Dia all but expected the worst out of this situation; by all means, having someone you care for (and love) this much so vulnerable to you should be nerve-wracking but--

 

It’s not all that bad. Watching Hanamaru’s calm face, Dia can’t help but feel relaxed herself. She brushes an errant lock of honey brown hair away from Hanamaru’s face, and begins to let her mind rest; a stark but much-needed contrast from her usual day-to-day. Dia lets out a small yawn herself, but unlike the sleeping princess in her lap, there isn’t a moment for her to close her eyes. She has Hanamaru to look after, and in her mind, she took precedence over anything else. Her heart would say it too, but, she wouldn’t let anyone know of that. It would be foolish of her to think of their relationship as anything more than just doing her job.

* * *

Hanamaru just wanted to play a little trick on Dia. That was it; all she wanted was to hear Dia cutely decline that she was happy to have Hanamaru resting her head on her lap. But she didn’t expect Dia to go along with it, let alone make her feel like  _ this _ .

 

_ She’s so warm, a-and her hand is so gentle…  _

 

Even though her initial yawns were but a feigned sign of exhaustion, the comfort of her current situation was almost too enticing to pass up.

 

_ A-Ah, maybe I can take a tiny nap… I know Dia will always be here for me-- Wait. I mean, here to protect me. _

 

So the princess closed her eyes, letting herself find respite in the comfort of her own retainer.

* * *

“Princess? Princess, wake up. The light is starting to wane.” Sighing as another attempt went unsuccessful, Dia placed a hand on Hanamaru’s shoulder. The girl had been asleep for quite a while now, and while Dia was all but happy to stay and let her rest for as long as she wanted, there was sure to be  people who would not like to have members of the royal family go unaccounted for.  _ Desperate times call for desperate measures… _ “H-Hanamaru? Wake up… it’s late and your parents are probably looking for you.” Dia shook her gently as she whispered, hoping that calling Hanamaru by name would go relatively unnoticed by the other girl.

 

“Mmm… so  _ now _ you finally call me that..”

 

_ Scratch that thought.  _

 

“Sorry for that , Princess; I should have not used it in the first place, but you were not responding to me--”

“No, I’m saying that you should call me that more, zura. It’s really cute when you say it.”

 

_ Ah. First, having her in my lap, and now this? Was she the one that was asleep in a dream? _

 

Getting up from an embarrassed Dia’s lap, Hanamaru rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “How late is it? I didn’t realize I’d slept that long, zura.”  _ Who knew that the stuck-up and bossy Dia would be that comfortable? _

 

“The sun is starting to set, but I think we can make it back well before it goes dark,” Dia answered as she began to pack up the remainder of the food that was still laid out. Hanamaru joined soon after, helping put back the plates scattered across the quilt. Getting up from their impromptu picnic, Hanamaru folded the quilt and picked it up, joining Dia who was already a few steps ahead with the picnic basket in hand. In the distance, the two could hear the sound of a horn ringing, signalling to the occupants of the castle that mealtime was imminent.

 

“A-Ah… we’re going to be late for supper,” Dia said bleakly, knowing she would be admonished for letting Hanamaru stay out of the castle late, “the King will certainly be cross with me…”

 

“N-No, it’s ok, I can just say that I was doing field work, zura,” Hanamaru replied, feeling the slightest tinge of guilt at the thought of getting Dia in trouble, “ sorry about roping you into all of this... 

 

Next date will be on me again, I guess?”

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time writing in a fantasy setting; so it was wonderfully new to experience!
> 
> This is a commission for my friend Sean! (https://redactedredacted.tumblr.com/) Thank you again!
> 
> \-----------
> 
> https://star-commissions.carrd.co/


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